Friday, April 11, 2008

Amorphophallus titanum

This rare plant had received a great deal of press as an international botanical event so I went to the Conservatory to see and smell it for myself. It began its bloom period on Wednesday, March 9 and lasted approximately 36 hours, according to a guide. By the time I got there on Thursday at approximately 10 a.m., the plant was dying and losing its bloom--the odor that is likened to rotting flesh was gone.

The flower is lime green with a phallic-like stalk and, when blooming, has a leafy purple and green "cape." Its soil temperature is monitored and at the base of the stalk are seedlike structures, which turn out to be the male and female features. The pollen is to be collected and spread around so that other corpses may bloom! The flowering version of the plant is so rare that plant experts know how many times it has happened in conservatories since it was discovered in Sumatra in the late 19th century. Ours was no. 122, one of the smallest on record, topping out at around 29 inches.

Alas I missed the peak blooming and olfactory experience and will now have to wait for 15 more years before it blooms again! I wonder if it's worth it?!

We missed the blooming at our conservatory too. Not much smell when we arrived. Maybe you an visit the San Francisco one sooner than 15 years. I'll have to look up the impending date sometime. Great shot anyway.

:) you know, one should simply be grateful for some things. You WERE there, saw the end and didn't have to smell the 'peak'.

Thank you for visiting. I'm very much AWOL these days. Love the country but the commute is taking a lot out of me - after 3 weeks clothes are still in bags and boxes - week-ends are too short and other current things take it up. One more week and it is vacation time with my daughter then mid-May I'm away for a month to visit my Mom and brother on Cape Cod.

I have also heard about these flowers but never actually saw one. It isn't much to look at either is it? Or maybe there was a Cinderella-like bloom that lasts only a few hours. Anyway. An interesting post.

One of those bloomed here a couple of years ago. Lots of news reports, lots of excitement, lots of attention. I ran out to the Conservatory at the Botanical Gardens to experience the amazing stench for myself. Turns out it was yet another case of something not living up to the hype -- I couldn't smell a thing. Not a tiny bit of stink about it!